Prof. Geoffrey Jones - Publications - Faculty & Research

21 Nov 2023
Op-Ed

The Beauty Industry: Products for a Healthy Glow or a Compact for Harm?

In my recently published book Deeply Responsible Business, I write about business leaders since the 19th century who have acted responsibly, often by putting the welfare of their communities above the idea of maximizing profits. I make a sharp distinction between... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Beauty & Cosmetics

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

Currently a Unilever brand can be found in one out of every two households in the world. This book has related how these brands came to form part of the everyday life of so many people as the world "globalized" from the 1960s. It has shown how Becel... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

22 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

Restoring a Global Economy, 1950–1980

The 1950s onwards saw the beginning of the reconstruction of a new global economy. Between 1950 and 1973 the annual real GDP growth of developed market economies averaged around 5 percent. This growth was smooth, with none of the major recessions seen in the interwar... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones

11 Mar 2001
Research & Ideas

Merchants to Multinationals: British Trading Companies in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

In this excerpt taken from the chapter entitled "From Trade to Investment," HBS visiting professor Geoffrey Jones traces the transition of the British trading companies from purely trading... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones

24 May 2021
Op-Ed

Can Fabric Waste Become Fashion’s Resource?

COVID-19 has broken fashion’s supply chain. As a result, an already wasteful industry has become more wasteful. Even before the pandemic, the global apparel industry was producing about 92 million tons of textile waste a year. That’s about one garbage truck’s worth of... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Shelly Xu; Fashion

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Unilever—A Case Study

locations, like Brazil, India, Nigeria, and Turkey. The story of Unilever in the United States provides rich new empirical evidence on critical issues relating to the functioning of multinationals and their impact.— Geoffrey View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Food & Beverage; Manufacturing; Retail

15 May 2019
Research Event

The Unconventional Capitalism That Shapes Business History

Lalocracio In thinking about the current contested state of global capitalism, and what to do about it, much can be learned from the debates I heard at the recent Harvard Business School conference, Seeking the Unconventional in Forging Histories of Capitalism, which... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones; Education

14 Dec 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Business Groups Exist in Developed Markets Also: Britain Since 1850

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones

02 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Coronavirus Careers: Cloud Kitchens Are Now Serving

cooking. About the Authors Lena Ye is a member of the Harvard Business School MBA Class of 2020. Geoffrey Jones is the Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, and Faculty Chair of the Business History... View Details

Keywords: by Lena Ye and Geoffrey Jones; Food & Beverage

05 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

Is the Business World Finally Ready for the Wisdom of Shibusawa?

However, his ability to inspire such compassion even four generations later speaks to the power and timelessness of his message—one that will likely continue to shape CEOs for decades to come. About the Authors Geoffrey View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Rei Morimoto; Financial Services; Retail

16 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

Reintroducing Intellectual Ambition to the Study of Business History

industries, consumer finance, and business and imperialism. We welcome proposals for further ambitious special issues that seek to move the discipline forward, employ rigorous methodologies, and engage wide audiences. We believe it is time for a quantum leap in... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones & Walter Friedman

08 Apr 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Multinational Strategies and Developing Countries in Historical Perspective

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones

19 Jun 2018
Research Event

Has Environmental Sustainability Lost its Relevance?

iPhoto For businesses and other organizations seeking to overcome roadblocks to sustainability over the last few decades, much can be learned from the debates I heard at the recent Harvard Business School conference, Understanding and Overcoming Roadblocks to... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones; Energy